American Samoa, Day 1
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2008
1
8
23
Trip End
Sep 30, 2008
Ofu,
Manu'a Islands,
Samoa
Monday, September 15, 2008
We spent the morning back on Tutuila with J.D. (our host at the Turtle and Shark). He was nice enough to run us into Pago Pago to collect our National Park Passport cancelation and filled us in on local politics, local business, and the gamut of life as a small island dependant on US support and the tuna canning industry. Overall, he gave us a somewhat cynical view, but it is clear that American Samoa has significant challenges to become self-sustaining. On the positive side, their leadership is selected and comes from their own population. On the negative side, it has all the problems of small local government dominated by a few families exacerbated by the flow of funds from the outside. All that aside, the surroundings are stunning, the retention of the peoples' culture and heritage is wonderful, and the folks we've met have been gracious and very pleasant.
We got to the airport around 11:00 and got ticketed for our flight to Ofu Island. The aircraft is a twin-engine box on wings seating 16 with a crew of two. For this flight, there are six of us plus pilot & co-pilot - 3 people from Public Works, one resident, and us. The flight from Pago Pago to Va'oto is about 70 miles. After takeoff, the crew turned on the AC, which reacted with the moisture laden air by creating a fog thick enough to obscure vision inside the aircraft. Noting that no one else was troubled, we sat back to enjoy the flight over the deep indigo waters of the South Pacific. The runway at Va'oto is at the base of 1,000 foot plus cliffs and we are told the wind can be tricky. The approach to the airport involved a perpendicular approach to the cliff while descending rapidly, then a sudden hard right bank, and a thudding set down. Being able to see this through the cockpit window was...thrilling...but the sudden swerving slow down was even more so...anyhow, we landed, were greeted and found ourselves at the lodge.
After seeing all the photos and reading the limited accounts of this place, I am still stunned by the tranquility, special atmosphere, stunning scenery, and pure beauty of the place. If there was EVER an argument for preserving special places, this is it. It is a little rough around the edges (litter is a big problem), but the pristine nature of the lodge and the National Park need to be underlined.
Our hosts, Deb and Ben, are gracious and welcoming - we had great meals and fellowship as we settled into our brief stay on Ofu.
